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John Cunningham, the veteran Broadway actor who appeared in films likeDead Poets SocietyandMystic Pizza, has died. He was 93.
A death noticeannouncedthat the actor died at his home in Rye, N.Y., on Tuesday. A cause of death was not immediately available.
Born in Auburn, N.Y., in 1932, Cunningham graduated from Dartmouth College and joined the Army, where he first worked in battlefield communications before performing in plays for troops stationed in France and West Germany. He subsequently received his master's degree from Yale Drama School, where he studied alongside his lifelong friend Dick Cavett.
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After moving to New York, Cunningham made his big break on stage in 1960 inMy Fair Lady, in which he played Zoltan and served as the understudy for Henry Higgins in the show's national and international companies. Over the next two decades, he appeared in numerous prominent Broadway shows, includingCabaret,1776,Company,California Suite, andZorba.
The actor made his screen debut on a 1963 episode ofThe Doctors. He also appeared on shows likeAnother World,The Secret Storm,The American Parade, andSearch for Tomorrow. On the big screen, Cunningham played small roles in films likeThe Big Fixstarring Richard Dreyfuss andLost and Foundstarring George Segal and Glenda Jackson.
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Cunningham's most memorable screen work came in the late '80s and 1990s. He portrayed the grandfather ofMatt Damonand Adam Storke (who played Julia Roberts' love interest) in 1988'sMystic Pizza, and also portrayed Ethan Hawke's father in 1989'sDead Poets Society. He reteamed with Damon for 1992'sSchool Ties, this time playing the futureGood Will Huntingstar's father.
Around that same time, Cunningham delivered some of his most memorable work on stage. He played Flan in the original production ofSix Degrees of Separationopposite Stockard Channing, Courtney B. Vance, and Kelly Bishop beginning in 1990 (and later played the supporting role of John in the 1993 film adaptation of the play). Over the next 15 years, he also appeared in new productions ofCompany,Anna Karenina,Titanic,The Sisters Rosensweig,Design for Living,Anything Goes, andAmour.
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Cunningham provided two memorable voiceover roles in prominent '90s films: the "Be a Man" tape instructor inIn & Outand the Fed Net Announcer inStarship Troopers. His other screen credits includedTwo Weeks Notice,The Jackal,Shaft, and episodes ofLaw & Order,30 Rock,One Life to Live, andThe Good Wife.
The actor's last performance on the New York stage came in an Off Broadway production ofPainting Churchesin 2012, and his final screen performance came on a 2013 episode ofBlue Bloods.
Cunningham is survived by his wife, Carolyn; his three children, Christopher, Catherine, and Laura, his six grandchildren; and his two great-grandchildren.
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